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Jailhouse lawyer

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ERIC CONOVER/Staff Photographer Theodore B. Savage looks over a lawsuit he recently filed in U.S. District Court in Scranton. The Hazle Township man used his time behind bars to study law and has filed and a number of federal and state-level lawsuits to date.

A judge who sentenced Theodore B. Savage told him he would never again see the light of day.

“The judge told me, ‘You are going to die in prison.’ Those were his words,” Savage said. “I was never supposed to get out.”

With mounting armed robbery convictions in three counties, the Plymouth native was facing at least 42 years in prison.

Savage served just over two decades, having successfully argued to have several of his convictions overturned.

“If it weren’t for the knowledge I have, I wouldn’t be out,” said Savage, 46, who earned a law degree while in prison. “I was blessed in getting out.”

While behind bars, Savage realized he wanted to help himself. He studied to become a paralegal. He took more correspondence courses, and used the prisons’ law libraries and his cell to study,

Eventually, he earned a juris doctor degree in law through an external degree program.

“One thing about law is that to someone that doesn’t really study it, it seems really complicated. But when you learn how to maneuver around the books, it’s pretty easy,” he said.

His handle on the legal system has not only earned him an early release,

but has helped him challenge various policies and conditions of confinement for other inmates, he said.

Now living in Hazle Township, Savage referred to himself as a jailhouse lawyer — an inmate who informally assists other inmates with legal matters related to their sentences.

“All the jails have what they call jailhouse lawyers. I got to know some of them just briefly,” he said. “The law became something interesting to me. It’s like, ‘Look, I’m in trouble. Let me study.’”

And while he has filed a number of actions over the years, he is most proud of a 2002 lawsuit that argued that a Pennsylvania mail policy violated prisoners’ constitutional rights.

Savage explained that all legal mail was opened in the presence of prisoners before 2002. But after post-9/11 anthrax mail scares, the state passed a new law allowing prison officials to open legal mail outside the presence of prisoners, he said. Other states followed suit, adopting similar policies, said Savage, who was at the State Correctional Institution at Graterford at the time.

The suit argued that the “new” policy was unconstitutional.

A U.S. District Court judge in Philadelphia eventually ruled in favor of Savage and two other plaintiffs in the case, according to a 2007 Philadelphia Inquirer article that called the federal ruling a win for prisoners across the nation.

“I was helping a lot of people once I was in there studying,” he said.

Ian Head is a co-editor of the Jailhouse Lawyers Handbook, a resource for prisoners wishing to file federal lawsuits addressing poor prison conditions or abuse by prison staff. The book offers other general law information, and is published by the Center for Constitutional Rights and the National Lawyers Guild (NLG).

“The NLG has for many years recognized jailhouse lawyers as members, though obviously their access to NLG activities is limited because of the restrictions of prison,” said Head, who is also a legal worker for the Center for Constitutional Rights and a NLG board member. “We do hear from jailhouse lawyers fairly regularly who write to tell us of their success in court. However, it’s hard to define what ‘success’ is, and there are many cases filed which are dismissed early on or do not get far in court.”

Savage said other suits he filed resulted in favorable rulings or settlements. Others were withdrawn or dismissed, he said.

“It’s not about (having a problem with) authority. It’s when I see you’re doing something you’re not supposed to do” that he said he will file a lawsuit.

Savage, however, believes he may be paying for the legal action he took while incarcerated, In March, he sued his parole officers in U.S. Middle District Court, alleging that two officers recently placed “unwarranted restrictions” on him because of his past action against prison officials.

In the suit, Savage claims that despite no parole or curfew violations since his release from prison almost two years ago, the named officers set a more restrictive curfew on him, asked him to report to a day program five days a week and ordered him to wear an electronic ankle monitor.

The case is pending.

Savage never thought he’d learn as much as he has — and he continues to learn more.

His wife, Stacy, said she often finds him studying books or watching legal classes online.

“It’s not interesting to me, but he enjoys it,” she laughed. “He talks about it, and talks about it.”

Savage envisions working in a law office, but doesn’t know if he’ll ever get the chance to practice with a firm.

He’s had interviews but called his criminal past a “hard sell.”

“I broke it all down. All I did. All my accomplishments since then,” he said, referring to a recent interview. “I told them it was a poor decision. I was young. I was immature at the time.”

He has also applied for work at supermarkets, retail stores and manufacturing plants, and has had no luck.

“It’s hard for people to see beyond it,” Savage said.

Savage takes responsibility for his past actions.

“I was bad,” he said. “I made some really poor decisions.”

He said he is trying to do “good things,” and has joined a church and participates in community betterment projects.

He has also mentored young prisoners by encouraging them to stay out of trouble once they’re released.

“I used to tell them, ‘Look at me,’” he said. “‘You can either do the right thing which is learn something and decide what kind of goals you’re going to achieve when you get out, and take steps to accomplish them” or do the wrong thing and return to jail.

Savage, who also earned degrees in psychology and criminal justice, said he remains focused on reaching his goals.

“I’m loving it too much,” he said of his freedom. “I’m not coming back.”

jwhalen@standardspeaker.com

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